UPDATE: Police shoot, kill armed man near Soulard Mardi Gras

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KSDK) -- St. Louis Police shot and killedOtis Robinson, 32,of St. Louisafter they say he pointed a gun at officers.

The shooting happened about 2:15 p.m. near the intersection of Barton and 9th streets in the city's Soulard neighborhood.

Police say uniformed officers working secondary security for the event heard gunshots, and when they responded they were confronted by a man wielding a gun. It happened after the man had allegedly been involved in some sort of altercation.

Lt. Col. Lawrence O'Toole said, "After repeated orders to drop the weapon he did not and the officers fired their weapons, striking him."

Robinson was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. O'Toole said by firing his weapon, Robinsonwas endangering Mardi Gras revelers.

"You know I guess I could say if you're firing a gun in Soulard on Mardi Gras, I would say thousands," said O'Toole. "Bullets as you know can go for miles."

Several witnesses confirmed seeing Robinson pull a gun. One eyewitness said the officers, who have 33 and 22 years of experience, were visibly upset after the shooting.

"We do not check for weapons as people enter," said Chief Dotson. "But as we talked about preparing, drink responsibly. We say there is no space in an urban environment like this for firearms and weapons. And we saw that today. I can't emphasize enough if you're confronted by a police officer and you're standing there and a police officer directs you to do something, it's incumbent upon you to follow directions and not turn and point a weapon at police officers."